Cellular and wireless communication technologies have seen explosive growth over the past several years. Wireless service providers now offer a wide array of features and services that provide their users with unprecedented levels of access to information, resources and communications. To keep pace with these enhancements, personal and consumer electronic devices (e.g., cellular phones, watches, headphones, remote controls, etc.) have become more powerful and complex than ever, and now commonly include powerful processors, large memories, and other resources that allow for executing complex and powerful software applications on their devices. These devices also enable their users to download and execute a variety of software applications from application download services (e.g., Apple® App Store, Windows® Store, Google® play, etc.) or the Internet.
Due to these and other improvements, personal and consumer electronic devices are becoming ubiquitous and ever-present in modern life, and have unprecedented levels of access to information that is generated by, or which relates to, their users. In addition, people frequently use their devices to store sensitive information (e.g., credit card information, contacts, etc.) and/or to accomplish tasks for which security is important. For example, mobile device users frequently use their devices to purchase goods, send and receive sensitive communications, pay bills, manage bank accounts, and conduct other sensitive transactions. Due to these trends, new and improved security solutions for authenticating the users of personal and consumer electronic devices, such as smartphones, will be beneficial to consumers.